Huang Yu shook his head and explained: "You underestimate Okamura Neji too much. If Major General Hashimoto doesn't attack Wei Village with all his strength and play this scene well, do you think we will continue to send troops to Wei Village?"
"If the troops operating in Chenjiazhuang don't move, will Hashimoto's brigade dare to detour through Chenjiazhuang and break through Shunping?"
Duan Peng immediately showed a look of realization: "I definitely wouldn't dare."
"I see……"
"The Hashimoto brigade's attack on Wei Zhuang is a show for us. Let us mobilize troops to reinforce Wei Zhuang. It is best to mobilize all the Chenjiazhuang garrison to create opportunities for them to bypass Chenjiazhuang and retreat."
Huang Yu shook his head again: "It's not entirely accurate to say acting."
"If Hashimoto's brigade can break through Wei Zhuang before dark, it will definitely be the best."
"After here, the troops march all the way and can reach Wangdu County in a few hours."
"After gathering the wounded and the baggage troops, we can continue to retreat. We can fight back to Baoding the day after tomorrow. We will avoid many detours and reduce many risks."
"In case we fail to break through Wei Zhuang."
"Instead of being blocked in Wei Zhuang and waiting to die, it is better to take a detour to Chenjiazhuang and take Shunping to break out."
"Although it is a bit risky, at least there is hope of returning to Baoding."
"If we are surrounded here, no matter how powerful the Hashimoto brigade is, they will be wiped out by us."
Duan Peng immediately reminded: "Then should we inform Commander Li of these inferences?"
"He initiated this war, and he is also the commander-in-chief. He should not hide it due to emotion or reason."
"No need for now." Huang Yu shook his head.
"Hashimoto's brigade stormed Wei Zhuang. Aircraft, heavy artillery, tanks, and even poison gas bombs...all available means were used. Their combat pressure must be very high."
"Notifying this matter now will definitely distract them."
"We just have to find a way to plug this loophole ourselves."
"The Japanese scouts broke out along the highway toward Chenjiazhuang. If Hashimoto's brigade really intends to detour around Chenjiazhuang and retreat, they must take this highway."
"As long as we cut off this road before they retreat, Hashimoto's brigade will be unable to escape, and will truly be in an embarrassing situation of being unable to advance and retreat."
"Captain, leave this task to me and ensure that Hashimoto's brigade's retreat is cut off..." Wei Dayong suddenly appeared behind Huang Yu and suddenly stepped forward to ask for a fight.
Huang Yu did not refuse: "You alone are not enough... the commando team must also participate."
"If you suddenly block the retreat of Hashimoto's brigade, they will definitely attack like crazy and tear a hole in your defense line."
"If you wait for the Japanese to break out and seize the highway and build a temporary defense line, you will definitely not be able to stop them."
"We must be unaware of the enemy, cut off the retreat of Hashimoto's brigade in advance, build blocking positions secretly, and be fully prepared."
"It will take time for us to mobilize our troops to encircle Hashimoto's brigade. Before that, the Japanese army will definitely launch attacks on you non-stop. It will probably take two to three hours."
"If there is not a strong enough blocking position, I will not be able to stop the Hashimoto Brigade even if I come."
Huang Yu kept looking for something on the map as he spoke, and finally focused on a small village five kilometers east of Weizhuang.
It's not much bigger than Wei Zhuang, but it has tunnels.
If Wei Dayong could capture that place quietly, he would definitely have no problem guarding it for three hours.
…………
At the temporary headquarters of Hashimoto's brigade, Major General Hashimoto was staring at the attacking troops rapidly advancing on the battlefield with a heartbroken look on his face.
"Rumble..."
Several explosive packets flew towards them at a speed visible to the naked eye, and soon made a thunderous explosion. Two of the explosive packets actually exploded in the air above the attacking troops.
The powerful lethality instantly knocked down a large number of soldiers.
Major General Hashimoto's free left hand unconsciously clenched into a fist.
Those people were all the elites of the Kwantung Army trained by themselves. It was a pity that they died on the battlefield like this.
"General, do you want to order the attacking troops to slow down a little and not charge so hard?" the chief of staff was also heartbroken and couldn't help but remind him.
"We only attacked for three hours and lost three infantry squadrons."
"If we continue to fight at this rate of losses, we will have to lose another large group before we can fight until dark."
"The Eighth Route Army is very determined to defend Weizhuang. We will definitely not be able to break through."
"The ensuing battle is more like an act to make them believe that we are still attacking Wei Zhuang, continue to mobilize troops to reinforce Wei Zhuang, and create opportunities for us to bypass Chenjiazhuang to break through."
"But it would be too much of a loss to act with the Eighth Route Army at the expense of a brigade."
Major General Hashimoto was moved when he heard this, and subconsciously nodded in agreement.
When the words reached his lips, he swallowed them back.
A small leak will sink a great ship.
The cost of a brigade is indeed a bit high, but it can attract more Eighth Route Army reinforcements to Wei Zhuang, and the main force of the brigade will have a greater chance of success in retreating around Chenjiazhuang.
After struggling for a long time, he ordered: "There is a saying in China: If you don't let go of your children, you won't be able to trap the wolf."
"This is a critical moment in the battle. We must not let the Eighth Route Army see the clues just because of heartache and casualties."
"Our opponents are very cunning, and any negligence may cause our deployment to fail."
The chief of staff was very reluctant, but he still nodded in approval.
When the eyes turned to the battlefield again, a new round of offensive by the troops was just repelled by the Eighth Route Army.
Nearly two squads remained on the battlefield, never to return.
"General..."
The hurried telegraph operator suddenly interrupted their thoughts.
"The reconnaissance team called urgently. They have secretly controlled all the villages and highlands we rushed to Chenjiazhuang. No Eighth Route Army was found along the route. If there are any new situations, we will report to the headquarters."
"Yoshi..." A rare smile flashed across Hashimoto's serious face.
"After fighting for so long, I finally heard some good news."
"No Eighth Route Army was found on the prepared retreat route, which shows that the force's attack on Wei Zhuang has achieved its effect."
"All the Eighth Route Army believe that we must break through Wei Zhuang, and plan to block us here and annihilate them."
"As long as there are no accidents on the battlefield."
"The troops suddenly turned around after dark. There were no obstacles along the way. The troops could reach Chenjiazhuang in six hours at most by marching urgently."
"After passing Chenjiazhuang, we will be completely safe."
The chief of staff was also excited by the good news. He seemed to have seen the scene of the troops successfully breaking through and said immediately.
"Commander of the brigade, our offensive against Wei Zhuang cannot stop."
"Let alone an infantry brigade, even if we lose another one and a half brigade, we can't let the Eighth Route Army discover any clues."
"As long as the prepared retreat route is not blocked by the Eighth Route Army, we will win."
Major General Hashimoto smiled: "Now you know what it means to be reluctant to let go of your children and not be able to trap the wolf, right?"
"Hurry up and execute it. Even if I can't break through Wei Zhuang, I will severely damage the Eighth Route Army defending Wei Zhuang and make them unhappy."
